BERLIN, MD - A five-count civil lawsuit has been filed against a Berlin daycare center and a formal employee alleging neglect and the abuse of a one-year-old child.
Filed by a parent of a child enrolled in the daycare, the complaint alleges Heather Ward, a former daycare provider at Berlin Activities Depot (also known as “Twisters Inc.”), regularly assaulted the one-year-old.
The plaintiff accuses Ward of battery and negligence and seeks damages in excess of $30,000 from her.
"All of Defendant Ward’s actions were intentional, willful, deliberate and committed with malice with complete disregard to the harm done to [the plaintiff]," the lawsuit reads.
The civil suit follows a criminal investigation first launched in November, with Ward being charged with 90 criminal violations in March. Ward was convicted on nine separate counts of misdemeanor second-degree assault after taking an Alford plea in August. Her sentencing is currently pending.
Also in August, a gymnastics coach at Berlin Activities Depot was charged with 2nd-degree abuse and assault following an alleged incident with a 4-year-old boy.
The lawsuit further accuses the Berlin Activities Depot of negligence and failing to prevent abusive behavior by their staff. The plaintiff says she incurred various medical costs as a result of the alleged abuse, according to the lawsuit. The suit demands at least $30,000 in damages from the daycare center as well.
Baltimore-based lawyers Michael Belsky and Catherine Dickinson, representing the mother in this lawsuit, say they are conducting a parallel investigation to the one being conducted by Worcester County law enforcement.